地方政府财政压力对企业ESG表现的影响
The Impact of Local Government Fiscal Pressure on the ESG Performance of Enterprises

随着中国经济进入转型期，推动可持续发展已成为经济发展新阶段的首要任务。然而，全球政治、经济形势趋紧，中国经济正面临着更加复杂的外来压力。作为推动绿色转型和可持续发展的重要微观实体，企业在环境、社会和治理(ESG)方面的表现受到了各级政府的广泛关注。地方政府财政压力会给企业ESG表现带来怎样的影响以及具体影响机制具有思考与探究的价值。本文基于2013~2023年华证ESG评级涵盖的中国上市公司数据，构建平衡的面板模型，实证考察地方政府财政压力对企业ESG的影响效应与影响机制。研究表明：地方政府财政压力对企业ESG表现具有显著负向效应，且这一结论在进行多项稳健性检验后仍然成立；地方政府财政压力主要通过增大企业实际税负与降低政府补贴降低企业ESG表现；地方政府财政压力对企业ESG表现的影响具有异质性特征；地方政府财政压力对企业ESG表现的削弱作用对东部企业更强，对中西部企业则影响不明显；地方政府财政压力对企业ESG表现的削弱作用对国有制企业更强，对非国有制企业则影响不明显。对此，本文提出两点建议：重视环保宣传，强化公众对企业ESG的监督和激励作用；推进企业数字化转型。
As China’s economy enters a transformation period, promoting sustainable development has become the top priority in the new stage of economic development. However, the global political and economic situation is tightening, and the Chinese economy is facing more complex external pressures. As important micro-entities promoting green transformation and sustainable development, the performance of enterprises in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects has received extensive attention from governments at all levels. The impact of local government fiscal pressure on the ESG performance of enterprises and the specific influencing mechanisms are of value for reflection and exploration. Based on the data of Chinese listed companies covered by Huazheng ESG ratings from 2013 to 2023, this paper constructs a balanced panel model to empirically investigate the effect and mechanism of local government fiscal pressure on the ESG of enterprises. Research shows that local government fiscal pressure has a significant negative effect on the ESG performance of enterprises, and this conclusion still holds true after conducting multiple robustness tests. The financial pressure on local governments mainly decreases the ESG performance of enterprises by increasing their actual tax burden and reducing government subsidies. The impact of local government fiscal pressure on the ESG performance of enterprises has heterogeneous characteristics. The weakening effect of local government fiscal pressure on the ESG performance of enterprises is stronger for enterprises in the eastern region, but not obvious for those in the central and western regions. The weakening effect of local government fiscal pressure on the ESG performance of enterprises is stronger for state-owned enterprises, but not obvious for non-state-owned enterprises. In this regard, this article puts forward two suggestions: attach importance to environmental protection publicity, and strengthen